In reading my review, realize I've been riding for one month, and this is my first pair of riding jeans, so I don't have any experience to compare them to other than standard jeans.
In my first pair, I wanted something i could wear when running errands and not look like I was wearing motorcycle pants. I wanted them to have decent protection, and needed something that is available in smaller sizes.
First up, the sizing is not true-to-size, or at least not in the smaller sizes. My measured waist is 29.5"; I'm usually a 28 or 26 in most jeans. Given these are supposed to be true-to-size and unshrunk, everyone says you should buy one size up from your normal size. I ignored that suggestion and went ahead and ordered a size 30. Before the shrinking there was a good 3 fingers of space in the waist. I went ahead and did a first rinse/soak with 110F water for 2 hours. LOTS of dye came out, so definitely soak them before you wear them or you're going to have a blue butt and legs. After air drying them they were still way too big. I did a second soaking in 125F water for another two hours. After drying they's still a bit big but close enough that I can do a belt. The rise is pretty large so they end up sitting up much higher than regular jeans. These sit maybe a half to three quarters of an inch below my naval. They still look a little bit like '90s JNCO jeans, in part because the knee pads are large and lay flat.
Speaking of the knee pads, they do not want to sit on my knees and have a tendency to rotate inward on my knees while i'm riding. I'm still adjusting them so maybe I'll eventually figure out a way to keep them situated. If not, I'll replace them with them some other brand. They are CE Level 2 and adjustable vertically. The hip pads are substantial and dont seem to move around much while riding, but *do* move around a little bit if you have a tendency to throw your clothes around.
Also, despite having Coolmax fibers woven into the denim, they are *very* warm. I've tried a couple of times to wear them this summer in the heat but it's almost unbearable. I suspect it's the kevlar lining that prevents them from being cooler. I'll probably end up using these for spring/fall/winter and try to find another pair of riding jeans for summer.
Overall, I'm pleased with them for the price I paid. I think at their original price of $220 I would have passed and gone with something else.
